I have a few guns placed strategically around my home but I have DTR By Black Aces that I bought specifically to protect my home. It uses 12 gauge shells, it has a shorter barrel and you can get pick between 2 magazines that hold 5 shells or 1 magazine that holds 10. I went with the 5 as it is shorter and easier to maneuver around stair wells, walls, and tight spaces like that. As far as using my concealed carry gun, I am conflicted. I have animals (cats and dogs) and would hate for one of them to be hit by shot gun pellets. On the other hand, they always say to be careful when defending your home because you are responsible for every bullet that comes out of your gun. A 9mm bullet can travel pretty far and if it can go through drywall and into your neighbors house and potentially hit them. Every instructor I have talked to has said a shot gun is better as the projectiles do not have as good of a chance of going through walls.
Ammo selection for any firearm is huge when it comes to over penatration and you have neighbors near by. 00 buckshot can just as easily go through multiple wall and exit a house as just about any .38 special. Number 4 buckshot has the lowest potential for over penatration and still has enough penetration to get the job done. For handguns look into frangable hollowpoints they are designed to fragment on impact and tend not to retain much energy after contacting a wall. While things can always go wrong they at least improve the odds.
My Remington 1100 tactical has 9 rounds of 00 buckshot ready to go, I just have to release the slide forward and Iām ready to rock, to a bad guy, thatās got to be a horrible sound to hear I would imagine. I use +Ps in my .45s and Hydroshocks in my .40s, I also have a great game plan if an intruder ever came into my home, surprise tactics can work very well, letās just say that sometimes, not everything is as it appears. We all know every nook and cranny of our homes, with the lights on or with them off. My pistol is the primary, and if I ever had to retreat, the shotgun is the final line of defense, itās right there and ready to go, easily accessible. I do have other mags for my pistol that are very easily accessible in a retreat situation. Train from laying down, and practice shooting around corners in tight spaces, it could save your life.
www.laser-ammo.com. Great website and has everything from laser training to electronic targets and simulators. Highly recommended.
Did you know you get a discount with Laser Ammo if youāre a USCCA member? Check out the member-only discounts on your dashboard here: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/dashboard/partner-discounts
(Not trying to push you to buy, trying to save you all money if you decide to go that route 
)
Its really nice of you guys to offer that discount. 
Laser ammo makes great products.
I have a lot of lighting outside, my front yard has a 6ā high fence all around it, and between my wife and I the last person home locks the gate, I want to buy a kick resistant stop plate a deadbolt for the door, and I have a dog dish outside and a beware the dog sign outside as well. I also leave my blinds and curtains closed. I used to do tree work and realized how easy a person could hide in shrubs, so all mine are kept low, and well pruned. If all that fails, I have an 870 with buckshot and a 500 lumen strobe flashlight by the bed. I also leave a couple lights on in my home that would allow me target acquisition if need be.
I could never bring myself to carry at home. I, like most on here I suspect, have a litany of firearms. I guess I just value my comfort in my own home too much to be packing in the recliner. I do keep a pistol in easy reach on both floors of my home. We have a Mastiff/Dane mix (see profile pic) who is VERY aware of his job so that helps. I admire those who carry at home. I just canāt do it.
I carry mine all the time, unless Iām in my pajamas. At that point I have it next to me, inside its holster. When I go to bed, it goes into my portable safe on the bureau. I have it angled so that when I open it my hand is in line with the gun. As someone mentioned, I keep my trigger finger straight so as to pick the gun up with appropriate trigger discipline. I actually practice opening the safe in the dark, with my eyes closed etc. Iām a light sleeper and am generally up a couple times over night. Sometimes Iāll open it quickly just to practice doing it from a deep sleep. I also have a tactical flashlight next to the safe as well as an expandable baton and my EDC knife.
If Iām dressed, Iām wearing my CC, I live alone, so I donāt have to worry about others touching my guns. I have two safes that are locked, but there are a few guns in each that are that are ready to go, in Massachusetts, our guns have to be locked up to be legal, its a bummer but thatās the law.
Yes, I have other pistols I can go to and other firearms if need be, but my conceal carry always stays on me except for showers.
Have been meaning to reply to this, thought about it tonight as I stowed my firearm for the night. When handling my firearm in a non-use environment, I have trained myself to place my trigger and middle finger on top of the slide or barrel. No one taught me this. Its just something I decided on. I know its unconventional, and maybe a bad training habit, but it makes me think āsafeā. In the safe, out of the safe, this is what my grip looks like whenever a firearm is in my hand and thereās no shooting or potential for it. Note: the one time I withdrew my gun from the safe with a need for trigger discipline, my grip looked a bit more conventional. 
Thereās nothing wrong with this bud, personally, I would like to see you discipline yourself to use a conventional grip, and keep your trigger finger stretched across the slide just above the trigger, as long as you think about what your doing every time, you should be fine. Iām not trying to tell you what to do by any means, but if you try it my way, every time you even touch your gun, this will be the muscle memory that you remember, even when you pull it from a holster, the muscle memory is with you. I have seen 2 people shoot themselves in the leg because they pulled from a holster with their finger on the trigger, and 1 putting it back into the holster, Iāve almost been shot twice as an RO because of this, I think thatās why I take it pretty serious. God bless.
Are we talking storing in a safe overnight, @AAlan? My main concern is in a self-defense situation, youāll grab the gun wrong due to habit. The other concern is putting your finger on the trigger as you pull the gun out of the safe and have a negligent discharge.
I keep one in a hollow book on my nightstand the rest are locked up. But i have one weapon and 2 to 3 spare mags, just in caseā¦ But i keep the one im most comfortable with outā¦ Then if i have to shoot either hand i know ill hit my target .
@Steve-G, @Dawnā¦ Been waiting to respond. Woke up to some noises last night, went for the safe, and everything came out exactly how it was supposed to: hand on grip, trigger finger in safe mode. I have been watching how I handle my firearm, and Iām not at all concerned with using different grips. Handling and storing can use a variety of grips. When it comes to business, there is only one.
Started to sweep the house. The cat was stretched out on the couch, yawning contentedly at me. After seeing that, I wasnāt concerned. Ended up being a neighbor messing with his trash cans.
Glad it came out the way you had planned, @AAlan.
So youāre a sweeper? To sweep or not to sweep?
Our apartment is so small I donāt need to Sweepā¦ a Small Dustpan will do! 
Yeap, my CC stays with me throughout the day but other options are available depending on where I am in the house.
Yup Kevin is right - and consider if you are awakened from deep sleep, then suddenly under high stress, in the dark.
So Two thoughts on loaded gun in a safe, drawer, wherever.
Both of which I have used. Whichever you do you need to practice
it until you cannot get it wrong.
1 - HOLSTER - put my gun in a Holster in a safe, in a night stand, wherever.
In car compartment. Wherever.
Can grab it quick w/o finger on trigger.
Rake or pull holster off of gun quick on the draw.
Or tie holster down. Holster stays, gun comes out.
(Level 0 holster) - Little to no Retention.
Assuming gun is in Condition 1 - Round Chambered, ready to fire with trigger press.
2 - ACTIVE SAFETY:
Gun in safe with active safety āOnā (Condition 2) - But you Need to practice deactivating safety while drawing from Safe.
Either way - Practice, many times, in the dark, your ādrawā from Safe, drawer, wherever. Blindfolded - Until you cannot do it wrong.